Good points. The image of the mediocre published MPG numbers is not a good sign for Mazda to launch its diesel engine(s) in North America and compete successfully against the Equinox/Terrain diesel models.

I am thinking of when Honda brought its hybrid Accord for 'performance boost' and the MPG was not that stellar. How well did it sell?

The biggest problem for Honda was that the extra purchase price of the hybrid far exceeded the potential savings. IIRC, it was in the neighborhood of 20-25 years. The other issue was that there was no way to tell the cars apart. That's actually part of why the Prius sold so well in it's earlier days. Everyone was able to recognize that you were making the commitment to "save the planet".